Seal member for preventing leakage of micro-powder from rotating body

Abstract

A seal member is described that is configured to prevent leakage of micro-powder from a rotating body such as a developing roller. The seal member of the rotating body of an image forming device using toner of the micro-powder includes base fabric consisting of knitting or fabric, loop-shaped pile yarn or cut-shaped pile yarn, which is supported on a surface of the base fabric by the entanglement or support of ground yarn of the base fabric, and a coating layer which has penetrated from a back surface of the base fabric to which a coating agent is applied to the side of pile yarn. A height of the coating agent which has penetrated from the back surface of the base fabric is the same as or less than a thickness of the base fabric which is configured by the height of the ground yarn which supports the pile yarn.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A seal member of a rotating body of an apparatus using micro-powder or a rotating body of an image forming apparatus using toner that is micro-powder, said seal member comprising:
 a foundation cloth made of ground yarn of knit or fabric; 
 a looped pile yarn or cut pile yarn formed on a surface of the foundation cloth, the looped pile yarn or cut pile yarn being dependent on entanglement of the ground yarn of the foundation cloth or support by the ground yarn; and 
 a coating layer configured to infiltrate toward the pile yarn from a back side of the foundation cloth to which a coating agent is applied, wherein 
 the coating agent infiltrating from the back side of the foundation cloth has an infiltration height equal to or less than a height of the ground yarn supporting the pile yarn, and 
 said seal member is configured to prevent leakage of said micro-powder from said rotating body. 
 
     
     
       2. The seal member of  claim 1 , wherein
 the looped pile yarn or cut pile yarn formed on the surface of the foundation cloth is pile yarn formed by spinning or yarn-making from at least two or more pieces of fiber, 
 said seal member comprises the pile yarn that at least includes fiber having a thickness from 0.1 deniers to 3 deniers, and 
 said seal member has the coating layer made of the coating agent infiltrating from the back face of the foundation cloth. 
 
     
     
       3. The seal member of  claim 2 , wherein with regard to the coating layer made of the coating agent infiltrating from the back face of the foundation cloth and a height of the coating agent infiltrating in to the seal member, the seal member has the coating layer with an infiltration height of the coating agent infiltrating from the back face of the foundation cloth toward the pile yarn controlled within the ground yarn of the foundation cloth by adjusting a thickness of the fiber used for the pile yarn, a viscosity of the coating agent, a molecular weight of resin used for the coating agent, a temperature at the time of coating, an additive amount of a leveling agent added to the coating agent, and a time after the coating until dried. 
     
     
       4. The seal member of  claim 3 , wherein the seal member having the coating layer with the infiltration height of the coating agent infiltrating from the back face of the foundation cloth toward the pile yarn controlled within the ground yarn of the foundation cloth has an elastic body made of a sheet layer disposed on a back face of a highly viscous resin layer having a regulated elasticity formed on a backside surface of the foundation cloth made of the ground yarn of knit or fabric.